From Russia With Squares (Tetris (PC))

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Tetris (PC)
Date:	29/07/04 (425 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original and fun, Simplistic and quick to play, Addictive

Disadvantages: Not enough variation - you'll always lose at a similar point, Free, Addictive

Those crazy Russians, what will they think of next? Well not Tetris as this hugely popular video game has already been created by Alexey Pazhitnov in 1985 and became famous for its simplistic enjoyment, frustratingly difficult levels and expensive court battles.

If you are interested in the history of the game and its subsequent lawsuits, you can read it all at: http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/tetrishist.html , but this website doesn’t include the phone call made on the eve of Mr. Pazhitnov’s epiphany, which was thankfully recorded by Russian spies or something like that. (I don’t know do I? It’s only pretend anyway)

- “Hello Boris, it’s Alexey.”
- “Alexey, it’s 3am, Russian time, why are you ringing me?”
- “I just had this idea of how to make the most popular video game in the world!”
- “A video game? You mean one of them quite new things like the the Pac Man and the Invaders of Space?”
- “Yes, it’s based on these blocks that you move to make lines that are then destroyed. I could call it ‘Tetris,’ but with a backwards ‘R’ because it’s Russian, but we can sell it to the Americans and other…”
- “Look, I love you but I’ve got work in the morning, this isn’t a good time.”
- “It’s never a bloody good time is it Boris?”
- “No, I didn’t mean… Alexey, are you still there?... He never listens to me.”


THE GAME


The basic Tetris game revolves around different shapes comprised of four blocks each (there are six combinations) which fall one by one into the game arena. The player guides the shape to its desired location and attempts to fuse as many shapes as possible without leaving any gaps between them. Each time a horizontal line of blocks is completed from the left to right of the screen, this line is obliterated and the pieces above all fall down by one. That’s it.

The Shapes:

[1][2][3][4] “I”

[1][2] “Z”
…..[3][4]

…..[1][2] “S”
[3][4]

[1][2] Just a square really
[3][4]

[1][2][3] “L”
[4]

[1][2][3] “J”
………..[4]

In the usual game, left and right on the keyboard, joystick or arcade joystick (if you are a bit old) move the shapes left and right during their gravity-fuelled descent; pressing up (or occasionally the ‘fire’ button) rotates the piece clockwise by ninety degrees and pressing down speeds up the descent once you have chosen the landing site.


WHAT’S THE POINT?


I love retro games, but I am strangely a newcomer to Tetris. Previously the official order of goodness went: PacMan, DigDug, Frogger, Scramble. The popularity of Tetris is a little odd considering there isn’t much to it (and it only becomes more challenging by increasing the speed), but it is very addictive. Tetris is also quick to play and lose, so it can provide a nice opportunity for some cheap online thrills.

It’s not one of my favourite games though, don’t be stupid. ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ and ‘Diablo II’ wee all over this Russian gravity-based puzzle, but do require a bit more effort that I can’t always be bothered to expend.


VARIATION


As Tetris is the most widely played video game ever created (even more than ‘Mister Robot Speak & Spell’ on the Amiga, although that is quite a bad example) there have been a predictably huge number of variants created over time. ‘Wormtris’ has always been my favourite, a completely unsolicited game by some Dutch guy with an Amiga 1200, although ‘Strip Tetris’ has recently caught my attention at striptetris.co.uk. Because I like the blocks and stuff though and that’s all, I think there’s a picture at the side that gets filled in as you play or something but I wasn’t really interested in that. (Not until level 4 anyway. Go and try it- oh, you already are). I wish I had a basic grasp of game programming so I could create and popularise ‘Strip DigDug,’ ‘Strip Ms PacMan’ (my favourite) and ‘Strip Mister Robot Speak and Spell’ but I can’t be bothered to learn.

Here are some online Tetris games that don’t need to be downloaded. I’ve used a couple myself, but the others are just there for some ‘variety’ (although the only real variety involves adding music and making the ‘I’ piece start vertically instead of horizontally).

http://www.miniclip.com/tetris.htm - I hate the Miniclip site, I really do (reminds me of the kind of people in school who really like sites like that). Still, it has an OK Tetris game with music.

http://www.addictinggames.com/tetris.html - a bit basic, but it has a Russian backdrop. Annoying sound effects though.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/tetris.html - I quite like this one, it’s a bit basic but has a clinical feel. Like playing Tetris in a hospital.

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex12/tet2.h tm - as simple as it gets – no music, no sounds and not even any gravity.

www.striptetris.co.uk - or just click on the link you put in your ‘favourites’ menu.


If anyone knows of any other interesting Tetris games (free ones; I am not mad) please tell me and I’ll check them out. ‘Wormtris’ was the first I played and is still by far my favourite, the extra options and introduction of worms/sheep making it all the more enjoyable. Amigans rule, as my Dad would say.

Summary: